Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak Recipe
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This Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak Recipe is an easy skillet dinner made with ground beef, bread crumbs and flavorful spices in a rich mushroom gravy!
Your entire family will love this classic comfort food that tastes great with creamy mashed potatoes and southern green beans like Grandma used to make!
If you like hearty recipes, you'll also enjoy my Cast Iron Beef Tenderloin, flavorful Honey Glazed Pork Chops, and Smoked Baby Back Ribs.
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Why You'll Love It
- Grandma's Recipe: old fashioned meals never go out of style, and this one is a tried and true favorite.
- Simple Ingredients: easy weeknight dinner made with simple pantry ingredients.
- Hearty Meal: satisfying entree when served with mashed potatoes and a green veggie.
- Delicious Gravy: this recipe makes the best mushroom gravy you've ever tasted!
- Ready in 30 Minutes: dinner will be ready in just minutes!
What is Salisbury Steak?
Surprisingly, salisbury steak isn't really steak at all, but actually hamburger patties mixed with bread crumbs and a beaten egg. It's similar in texture to a mini-meatloaf.
This classic recipe originated in the United States, and was named after Dr. James H. Salisbury, who believed that meat was the center of a substantial meal. Back in the 1950's, salisbury steak helped TV dinners become one of the most popular frozen foods of its time.
Today, these homemade beef patties are the ultimate comfort food, and convenient to make from scratch. This easy recipe goes from skillet to table in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients You'll Need
You'll need 80% ground chuck to make tender patties, plus a variety of spices such as garlic salt, steak seasoning and dried parsley.
Include a diced onion, panko bread crumbs, steak sauce and a large egg to make the meat mixture. Use olive oil to grease a large skillet.
For the gravy, you'll need a small onion, sliced mushrooms, butter, soy sauce, beef broth, dried parsley, black pepper, and a slurry of cornstarch and water. For quantities, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Salisbury Steak Patties
- In a large bowl, mix ground beef with garlic salt, steak seasoning, diced onion, bread crumbs, beaten egg, dried parsley and steak sauce together until fully incorporated.
- Form meat mixture into 6 oval patties with your hands, taking care not to press too tightly.
- Drizzle olive oil into a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add patties and lightly brown for about 2 minutes on each side. Continue to cook meat in skillet until no longer pink in the middle (about 10 minutes).
- Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm on a plate covered with aluminum foil.
- Drain grease from skillet.
How to Make Salisbury Steak Gravy
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and mushrooms. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add soy sauce and sauté until mushrooms and onions are soft (about 3-4 minutes). Sprinkle mushrooms and onions with dried parsley and black pepper.
- Pour beef broth into skillet and bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
- Make a slurry with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons of water. Mix well and pour into skillet.
- Stir mushroom and onion gravy over medium heat until gravy thickens and makes a delicious sauce.
- Reduce heat to low and add salisbury steaks back into skillet, spooning mushroom gravy over the top of steaks. Let patties stay in the gravy for a few minutes to absorb the flavors. Serve over mashed potatoes.
Variations
This easy old fashioned salisbury steak recipe is best just like it is, but if you want to make substitutions, try these variations...
- Stuff with Cheese: Add a cube of mozzarella cheese into the center of each patty before cooking.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Some folks use Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce, but I think the gravy tastes better with soy sauce instead.
- BBQ Style: Add Carolina gold sauce to the patties for a tangy twist.
- Go Vegetarian: Substitute a mixture of black beans, mushrooms, and oats for a vegetarian option.
- Make it Spicy: If you like it hot, add jalapeños or red pepper flakes to the mix.
Recipe FAQs
You can, but you may find that the patties are less juicy and crumble when cooking. I've tested it both ways, and 80% ground chuck works best in this recipe. Just be sure to drain the grease from the pan.
Hamburger steak is simply a hamburger without anything else added, while salisbury steak adds bread crumbs, eggs and seasonings which makes it similar to a mini meatloaf.
Adding egg and bread crumbs acts as a binder that helps hold the patties together during the cooking process.
What to Serve with Salisbury Steak
Try pairing this easy salisbury steak recipe with your favorite sides for the perfect southern meal:
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes: mashed potatoes are a classic choice.
- Roasted Broccoli: Roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or green beans add a pop of color and flavor to the meal.
- Rainbow Salad: A mixed green salad with lemon vinaigrette makes the perfect side.
- Potato Salad: Redskin potato salad adds tons of flavor to this dish.
- Collard Greens with Bacon: the classic southern veggie
- Homestyle Mac and Cheese: everyone's favorite comfort food
- Cornbread: Add a slice of southern cornbread to top everything off!
Expert Tips
- Choose the Right Beef: Use a blend of ground beef with a higher fat content, such as ground chuck (80% lean), for the juiciest patties.
- Shape Patties into Ovals: gently shape the patties into ovals that are ½ inch thick and try not to compact them too tightly.
- Simmer in Gravy: Before serving, add the patties back to the skillet and simmer them in mushroom gravy. This allows the patties to absorb all of the delicious flavors.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. To thaw, do so in the refrigerator overnight.
Reheat leftovers in the oven or microwave until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
More Hearty Dinners
If you're looking for more hearty dinners to feed your family, try these other recipes that are sure to please...
Recipe Card
Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak Recipe
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Equipment
- cast iron skillet (or oven safe)
Ingredients
Salisbury Steaks
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef (80 percent)
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon steak seasoning
- 1 small onion (diced)
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 3 Tablespoons steak sauce (like A1 or Heinz 57)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Mushroom Gravy
- 1 small onion (sliced thin)
- 8 ounces mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
- 2 cups beef broth
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
Salisbury Steaks
- Mix ground beef with garlic salt, steak seasoning, diced onion, bread crumbs, beaten egg, dried parsley and steak sauce until fully incorporated.
- Form meat mixture into 6 oval-shaped patties.
- Drizzle olive oil into a non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add salisbury steaks and lightly brown for about 2 minutes on each side. Continue to cook steaks in skillet until no longer pink in the middle (about 10 minutes).
- Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm on a plate covered with aluminum foil.
- Drain grease from skillet.
Mushroom Gravy
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and mushrooms. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add soy sauce and sauté until mushrooms and onions are soft (about 3 more minutes).
- Sprinkle mushrooms and onions with dried parsley and black pepper.
- Pour beef broth into skillet and bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
- Make a slurry with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons of water. Mix well and pour into skillet. Stir over medium heat until gravy thickens.
- Reduce heat to low and add salisbury steaks back into skillet, spooning mushroom gravy over the top of steaks. Let patties stay in the gravy for a few minutes to absorb the flavors.
- Serve hot over mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. To thaw, do so in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat leftovers in the oven or microwave until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
Tried this Recipe and Loved It? ❤️ Please scroll down and leave a *STAR* review for others to view!
I haven’t had this for years! The recipe caught my eye and I’m glad it did. This was so good and comforting. I made mine the same as recipe but added Worcestershire and soy sauce. Brought back memories of my childhood. Husband loved it ! Definitely going in my regular round. Thank you!
Love to hear this Karen! Thank you for writing in and letting me know how much you and your husband loved my version of salisbury steak!
This sounds delicious. I basically make my hamburger patties this way. I have to disagree with the title. I know this as Hamburger Steaks. I thought Salisbury Steak was made with real Steak, can be Cubed Steaks. I will have to make this, minus the Mushrooms. Not a fan.
Thanks for your note Barb. Hamburger steak is simply ground beef made into a patty. Traditional Salisbury steak is ground beef mixed with bread crumbs, egg and seasonings. That's the main difference between the two. Salisbury Steak was originally made with ground beef by Dr. James H Salisbury, who never used cubed steaks. Here's a great article about if you'd like to learn more.. If you're not a fan of mushrooms, it's fine to leave them out and just make the gravy plain. I hope you get a chance to try my recipe because I've had great feedback about it!
This recipe brings back memories for me. I like that you use soy sauce in the mushroom gravy.
Thank you Cecily! I like the flavor that soy sauce adds to the mushrooms. 🙂
My family devoured this recipe, we all voted it as Delicious and one of the best we've ever eaten!
Thank you Vicky! So happy you all loved it!